The Souvenir: Part II

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source: The Souvenir: Part II

A woman looking for truth. It's not necessary to see part 1. This film stands alone. You have to pay attention and work things out on your own for the most part. A tall order these days, i know. The acting is great and fun to see tilda in anything. Not for the action crowd, but for those who love movies. Make sure you stay til the end.

I think I enjoyed "The Souvenir Part II" even more than the first installment. I didn't actually enjoy the first one much while in the act of watching it, and it wasn't until days later, when I realized I couldn't stop thinking about it, that its specialness hit home. But it's still a frustrating experience to watch an entire movie about a woman letting a man treat her badly for two hours, even if that experience is a common one in the real world. It's not really a spoiler to reveal that the man has died before the second episode begins, and that this film focuses on our heroine's attempts to work through her grief and insecurities by directing a student film. "The Souvenir Part II" is much more meta than the first one, and it's much more about the process of making a movie, which I find fascinating. This is one of the best movies about making movies I've ever seen. Think of it as a "Day for Night" for a student filmmaker. Will there be a "Souvenir Part III?" If there is, count me in. Grade: A.

It seriously threatened to take the first spot on my list of the best films of 2021. Unbelievable! I didn't receive well the first film because I think I wasn't prepared for it when I saw it, and that is - I have to rewatch it, but that's an incredibly challenging film. In this one, you can get aboard trouble-free. And I'm not saying this is a more conventional film. It's not. Hogg managed to "reach out" to the viewer (at least to me) smoothly this time around while at the same time preserving the same confident, sumptuous directing style she displayed in the first film. Where the two films differ quite a bit is the writing. Here, there's a good deal of dialogue. Characters express themselves a lot, whereas, in the first film, you have to drain your intuition empty to understand what's going on; what's the motivation behind the characters' actions. And while I think that's what Hogg intended with the first film, and it wasn't an anomaly of the movie, I have to admit I didn't get along with it. Anyway, the rewatch is on the way, so I'll settle the score with the first film shortly. Back to Part II, I loved it! There's a peaceful vibe that's so welcoming naive with its brute honesty yet disarming with its gentle way of coming to meet us. Honor Swinton gives a nuanced performance, fully embracing the pure nature of her character. And her performance gets even better and more genuine, almost unselfconscious when she's acting alongside Tilda. Double-Swinton powerhouse! Here, Hogg showcases a bit of her humor through my favorite character in the film: Patrick. I love hysteric characters, and this guy was my poison. - "You're forcing me to have a tantrum." I yelp-laughed at that. He almost ruined the rest of the movie for me because, after the scene where the line above takes place, I was in such a hurry for the film to end so I could go back and watch the scene on loop. Anyway, 'The Souvenir, Part II' is such a rich film. And it's this richness that allows for it to connect with everyone. I think everyone would find a piece in it they will relate to if they let themself reminisce in Hogg's confessional cinematics.

Same review as part one and I can't believe I'm saying this, In my opinion I felt like film was far to slow for my liking and not much going on but on the plus side I did enjoy the style of the film and the way it portrayed and I can see why people rather enjoyed this film. Tilda Swinton was an amazing actor as always in this and portrayed character as Rosalind really well. Personally I didn't enjoy it that much simply because of how quite it was but it was still a beautiful script.

Thank the spirits above and below that there are real artists taking risks. There's a reason this avoids Netflix. Excellent, true, mind blowing. Thank you.